2020 Overland Explorer Vehicles (OEV) CAMP-X pop-up slide-in pickup camper (renamed "Back Country" as of 2023)

[mk216v]

Interesting interview and updates. Now completely focused on OEV and the CAMP series production and apparent exit from their origins at Lite Industries. 2022 pricing coming this month. Planned releases for 2022 and 2023.

Overland Explorer Vehicles Debuts Camp-M and Camp-X

With their proprietary composite panel and extruded aluminum construction, Overland Explorer Vehicles (OEV) aims to advance truck campers.

www.truckcampermagazine.com

Great read, thx!

Exit from Lite? I thought Mark owned Lite too?
Interesting that they didn't run with the Mercedes Canada opportunity to build Sprinters too; we all know how hot and booming van life is as well. Probably not enough resources (room, staff, etc) to do both vans and truck campers.

I guess what works for one is not ideal for another.
I had three popups with under bed storage, I really liked it, especially for stuff that you don’t want/need every time you camp. A couple blankets, rain gear, towels. 10x10 tarp to use as a canopy.
Easy to gain weight though
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Agreed. I think some of us have felt the need to evolve from the "duffle shuffle." Having a camper pre-set-up with most items, to where you can add some more trip-appropriate clothing, and food, is gold for me personally. But, I completely understand why OEV hasn't added the under-bed storage area, for it'd increase dimensional height.

 

[Ninelitetrip]

Great read, thx!

Exit from Lite? I thought Mark owned Lite too?
Interesting that they didn't run with the Mercedes Canada opportunity to build Sprinters too; we all know how hot and booming van life is as well. Probably not enough resources (room, staff, etc) to do both vans and truck campers.



Agreed. I think some of us have felt the need to evolve from the "duffle shuffle." Having a camper pre-set-up with most items, to where you can add some more trip-appropriate clothing, and food, is gold for me personally. But, I completely understand why OEV hasn't added the under-bed storage area, for it'd increase dimensional height.

Not an exit as I understand it. LITE is still the mothership, OEV is a brand. They have moved away from the work that built LITE and are 100% concentrated on OEV. Extractive industries up their way have taken a large hit, I'm guessing that part of the business diminished. They had some nice Sprinter builds, even also on the MB Metris platform. Then they tried their hands with the small trailers. Now seems they are purely concentrated on the current product line and expanding their factory footprint. The BASE CAMP is not scheduled until 2022 and the SUMMIT-X until 2023?

 

[mk216v]

Not an exit as I understand it. LITE is still the mothership, OEV is a brand. They have moved away from the work that built LITE and are 100% concentrated on OEV. Extractive industries up their way have taken a large hit, I'm guessing that part of the business diminished. They had some nice Sprinter builds, even also on the MB Metris platform. Then they tried their hands with the small trailers. Now seems they are purely concentrated on the current product line and expanding their factory footprint. The BASE CAMP is not scheduled until 2022 and the SUMMIT-X until 2023?

Copy. Exciting to see where they've come and where they're going! And sounds like they're being smart about it (focusing on current campers, then feeding in the new Base and Summit again).

 

[PaulPritchard]

Great pictures Chadx. Do you usually stay away from campgrounds and go out on you own? You sure find some great looking spots.

Unrelated question I've been thinking about since buying the Camp-X. Do you have locks for your two exposed Torklift turnbuckles?

 

[Chadx]

Yes, we primarily disperse camp. We only stay in campgrounds when we absolutely must. Usually that is when we have our fishing boat in tow which doesn't do well on forest service roads. Ha. Usually we can find dispersed camping even when traveling in unfamiliar areas. I'm spoiled to the point that I'm too intolerant to stay in campgrounds regularly. Just too many blissfully unaware personalities out there having loud conversations well into the night, partiers, locking and unlocking their vehicle repeatedly with the associated audible beeps/horn honks, playing music or TVs, the ever common generators.

Another factor is that we prefer to avoid campfire smoke and campfires are just an understandable part of campgrounds. This last 3 day trip, the first night we ended up in a small campground with about 20 spots. It was empty when we arrived early evening and we picked a spot. Then a local arrived and courteously chose a spot nearly 1/2 way around the loop completely out of eyesight. Then another vehicle arrived, did three laps, and pulled into the spot immediately next to us and built a big fire that blew directly into our open window so we had to seal up the camper even though it was really hot inside as we'd not yet been able to cool it off. Everyone has different comfort levels and expectations and we understand that it doesn't occur to some users to give space when it's available. And, some users may actually feel more comfortable immediately next to another camper. So, everyone's expectations and comfort levels are different and for that reason, we choose to primarily disperse camp. And after all, we have a rig like this (rather than pulling a huge camper trailer or driving an RV or camper van) so we can get away from it all.

Regarding locks on rear turnbuckles, I did end up doing that for our trip to Escalantes and have since just have left them on. I use the Bolt brand that are keyed to my pickup key. See this post for more details:
https://expeditionportal.com/forum/...-in-pickup-camper.214329/page-18#post-2908319

 

[anthonym]

Yes I HAVE had wetness under my bed even when not below freezing I’ve noticed lately.

Noticed the same thing on our trip last weekend to the Winds along with some condensation at the very edge of the ceiling extrusions where the foam break stops. Stayed above freezing but cooled off into the high 30s at night. I might email OEV and get their feedback about the mattress in particular as I don't want to encourage mold or anything.

Side note: if you have the Truma set to Eco or Comfort overnight, no need to drain until you're below -4˚ as it will maintain the water above freezing. See page 13 "operation in frost conditions" from the manual here.

If you don't see the Eco and Comfort modes on your control panel, you just need to reset the panel while the AquaGo has power so it discovers the appliance. Perform the following: Turn on propane, turn on power to hot water heater via outside switch, go to internal furnace/heater shared control panel, go to "Service Menu" > "RESET" > "PR SET" to restart the control panel so it recognizes the AquaGo now that it has power (page 7 here).

 

[anthonym]

Regarding locks on rear turnbuckles, I did end up doing that for our trip to Escalantes and have since just have left them on

Locks: BVO suggested locking them because the turnbuckles themselves are quite expensive. I found a generic "outdoor" rated Masterlock at the hardware store with the right clearance. Just bring the pin to compare shackle diameter and measure the clearance required to go through both holes on the turnbuckle. I didn't end up needing a long shackle lock or anything.

 

[Chadx]

Good reminder on the Truma AquaGo temp settings as a way to prevent freezing. We definitely love leaving it on during the day so hot water is nearly immediate. For us, it's a bit too noisy to leave on all night (seems a bit noisier than the furnace) so we just drain it since I use the water for the portable toilet and then don't have the little bit of extra propane use and noise overnight. Most probably won't really notice the water heater cycling since the furnace will already be cycling. Leaving it on overnight is a great option for those that just want to run it to avoid freezing rather than drain which may be especially important when your water supply is running low. I'll remind that it's not recommended to drive with the AquaGo running so if temps aren't back comfortably above the freezing mark by the time you shut off your propane and start to drive, make sure to either drain the AquaGo or have the 12volt DC electric "Truma AquaGo Electric Antifreeze Kit" installed and actively running while you drive. The heating element draws 5amps, but since it will only be used while driving, plenty of current comes from the pickup as to not deplete house battery. You can also use it when on shore power or from house battery, but when on battery-only, it will draw you down rather quickly. Antifreeze kit specs: Nominal voltage:12VDC. Nominal current: 5A. Ambient Temp supported: -4 °F ... +104 °F (-20 °C ...+40 °C).

Agreed that the "Torklift AnchorGuard Derringer - S9020" are quite expensive. A set of four is $360. I'd mentioned our preference for the Bolt brand padlock since it is the perfect size and you set the tumblers with your vehicle's ignition key (you have to buy the right lock compatible with your brand - Chevy, Ford, Ram, Toyota, etc.). The nice thing about that is no keeping track of, or carrying around, a different key that, for us, wouldn't be used for 7 months straight. Yet I always have the needed key handy if I should need to remove the lock. There is not a weather protective flap covering the key, but they are pretty protected if you face them inward. But as "anthonym" mentions above, such a huge variety of locks that will work so go as weather protected, expensive, cheap, big or small as your situation and environment warrant.

 

[6thElement]

I definitely wish our two year old model had some of the improvements they've made over time. My wife and I just got back from a 2200 mile roadtrip though Montana and Wyoming MTB'ing and fly fishing. We've got most things sussed now, but I really need to look into some of the insulation tape around the top extrusion to help with the condensation. The mid-level is never normally a problem at all.

For the rear turnbuckles I use these keyed alike to other sized padlocks we have with us. I've already got a bunch of keys that are needed with the camper, so this extra one doesn't hurt.

Abus Lock 70IB/45HB63 All Weather Padlock

All Weather 1-3/4" coated brass padlock with long stainless steel shackle in stock for immediate delivery

allpadlocks.com

Here's one of our camp spots near Glacier NP from last week:

 

[BeaverMan]

I have a 2021 model and the abus 70IB are too tight of fit- tie down bracket is different. Put lock on and could not get key in without cutting the key way down and using needle nose pliers to turn.

 

[6thElement]

I have a 2021 model and the abus 70IB are too tight of fit- tie down bracket is different. Put lock on and could not get key in without cutting the key way down and using needle nose pliers to turn.

Different from the way chadx shows in his photo above of his padlock securing the turnbuckle?

 

[PaulPritchard]

The way my tie-downs were installed on my 2021 Camp-X the pin holes run east-west and the camper body prohibits fitting various padlocks that are long enough to go through the pin holes without bumping into the camper. I haven't played around with the tie-downs so I'm thinking maybe they can be twisted(?) to re-orient the pin holes to allow room to fit the padlocks. Still learning about the camper.

 

[Chadx]

Paul,
Curious if your brackets are in a different orientation than mine.

The upper hook of the torklift is fixed and can't be rotated. The bottom hook can rotate. So how the torklift sits is really depends on the orientation of your camper tiedown bracket. My brackets are north south with a hole that the torklift hook passes through (shown in pictures) and that tends to orient the hook, and therefore the torklift itself, East/West (which means the holes for the padlock are more N/S than E/W, though at a slight angle). That the torklift handle opens east west can slightly impede the opening and closing because the handle hits the bed of the truck, but there is just enough play that it can be angled slightly and still open and close. The shown orientation is what allows the lock on mine to slide in and face the rear (or from the rear to face the front if one chose to do so). If the bracket, or the torklift, has changed, that would impact the orientation. Here are closer images of my bracket, torklift and lock. The second image looks down into the Derringer head on the Torklift showing how the hook pivots but can't rotate.



This image shows down into the Derringer head on the Torklift showing how the upper hook pivots but can't rotate (maybe a bit hard to see, but the base of the upper hook and it's pivot are visible immediately below the upper padlock shaft).

 

[PaulPritchard]

Looks like they might be using different camper-attached brackets on the newer models.



Here's a picture of my tie down. You can see where there's little room to slide a lock in to where the holder pin is - because of the proximity to the camper.

 

[Chadx]

Yes, that bracket redesign accounts for the orientation difference and associated padlock fitment issue. It looks like that bracket change makes it easier to open and close the Derringer handle on the Torklift so that was likely the reason. I like it.

I know the larger hole on the bracket is the intended/primary place for the upper torklift hook, but I wonder if the hook will fit through that smaller bracket hole (and the hook not rub against the camper wall), which would turn the derringer handle 90 degrees and allow for easier padlock fitment.

Or, if you use the same bracket hole, but position the top hook from the rear rather than front, that might allow a bit more twist in the torklift itself. When hooked from the front, it looks like the hook rests on the park of the bracket and wouldn't allow twist, but from the rear, it would.